The "Today I did something to my bike" thread

frozenfrozen

Have a picture on the way there I stopped for petrol



Unfortunately my skills do not extend to taking pictures of myself on the bike while hoola hooping 2 tyres

They were actually comfortable you can lean into them I'd nearly bring them for the support if I had to do a full day on a motorway

Max Headroom

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Have a picture on the way there I stopped for petrol



Unfortunately my skills do not extend to taking pictures of myself on the bike while hoola hooping 2 tyres

They were actually comfortable you can lean into them I'd nearly bring them for the support if I had to do a full day on a motorway

Theres a lot to be said for morbid obesity ......:D

frozenfrozen

Actually got out for a spin on the bike just a little while ago.

Might as well be a new bike ho Lee **** it's so easy to ride now

Hotblack Desiato

There's a reason why clued in amateur racers given 1000 euro to spend on engine, tyres or suspension, will spend it on suspension every time... your sticky tyre or mega tuned motor is no good if the back tyre is in the air!

Hotblack Desiato

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Actually got out for a spin on the bike just a little while ago.

Might as well be a new bike ho Lee **** it's so easy to ride now

Did you buy it like that or did someone put a new shock in like that?

frozenfrozen

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Did you buy it like that or did someone put a new shock in like that?

the old shock was just ****e, this 'new' one was a 20 euro or something hand me down job that I installed myself but the preload adjustor hadn't been moved in probably 5 years and it was seized with a lot of preload on the spring so it was hard as fook

feels so good now I can't imagine what a properly set up bike on good suspension feels like. Couple of parts on my usual spin where I had to roll off over a few little hills etc but I was able to stay on the power no bother now

Hotblack Desiato

The shock was previously set up for a rider of 600kg there's no need to be fattist

frozenfrozen

Had a nice spin Saturday got to properly try out the new tyres, they are indeed unreal. Limerick to killarney, through mallow, across the Vee, the big left hander coming out of dungarvan! kilmeaden, to carrick on suir. Spent probably 50 euro on petrol though, every fill up I was putting in the same number as a zzr14 ffs

Sunday set off straight into properly heavy rain and I experienced the SV325 bug again where rain goes into the spark plug hole on the front facing cylinder and you get half of an sv650, an sv325. It's like the most scary version of traction control you could ever have. Because the front cylinder cuts in and out randomly

So there I was on this bucking horse, glasses fogging up with the first rain in 40 days and I pulled in to put in contact lenses and try to sort out the wet front cylinder, and what did I see? I'd lost my fecking rear seat cowl! I mustn't have clicked it back on properly after taking the waterproofs out. I ordered a chinese replacement one 40 odd euro and it'll be here by september. Won't make that mistake twice.

I need a new spark plug lead and cap but it's a once piece unit between the ignition coil and the lead so it looks like I'll have to get a new coil. My lead for the front cylinder has been cut down multiple times so it's too short to be cut again. And the cap itself is goosed, full of green stuff and it's been cleaned a few times.

it looks like the lead and coil are one unit. So I'll have to buy a new coil and a new plug cap. Thinking of getting an NGK cap and sealing around it some way rather than getting another OEM cap which I have found even when sealed properly apparently is letting water get in.

My drain hole is 100% clear, maybe the water is actually going up the drain hole. Or the cap and lead are so fecked from getting wet over the years just the tiniest bit of water getting at them causes the issue rather than water actually flowing down the hole etc..



Also going to order fork seals and bushings kit but need to figure out exactly what I should do for the coil / ht lead/ plug cap situation

Blanchy90

You should get a fender extender and that should help prevent the sv325 haha I'v been lucky so far and not had the issue with mine

listermint

Would a lather of Silicone Spray all over it not prevent much of this ?

frozenfrozen

listermint wrote: »

Would a lather of Silicone Spray all over it not prevent much of this ?

too late for that now there's green corrosion all up in the plug cap and into the lead itself and there isn't any more length to cut it back and start again with a new cap etc. But yep silicone grease will be going all over it when I fix it

Esel

You could try splicing in a new HT lead, or have an auto electrician do it.

frozenfrozen

The lead is wound into the coil. Not sure cutting and soldering on a new HT lead would be good for it? Think it would be cheaper/easier to go for a replacement oem used unit

I'm going to buy silicone grease and do that as a temporary fix anyway and see if it lasts.. Just won't be able to cut down the ht lead more so I'll have to spend ages scraping off the green stuff and carefully screw the plug cap back on

Esel

Look into it anyway. It might be a piece of cake if you can crimp or solder it and then heatshrink the join.

Edit: To clean the end of the old lead you could try soaking it overnight in cola.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I love my big R1200GS, bloody love it. But (isn't there always a but), the buffeting from the BMW screen is unlike anything I've experienced before (even worse than my old Vstrom, and that was bad).

So I bought a deflector, arrived from China today.

The build quality is excellent, really nice.



I haven't test rode it yet, but report and pix to follow tomorrow.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Following on from my last post.

I got to ride the bike today, and tried the deflector in different positions.

As I said earlier the buffeting on the R1200GS was terrible, so I bought a winder deflector/spoiler from China (€20 delivered).

Its really excellent quality, esp for this price (from two major European makers it would have cost me over €100).

So did it work?..

It completely transformed the ride. While sitting at motorway speeds (120kph) with the original screen I was seeing double unless I had my visor closed, and then I was being deafened with wind noise.

Now with the deflector/spoiler I was sitting in complete calm air and could easily hear the engine buzzing under me.

Brilliant, well worth it.

GBX

Looks like a clip on job yeah? Will you throw up a link ? Ta

Max Headroom

Cayden Defeated Thunderstorm wrote: »

Following on from my last post.

I got to ride the bike today, and tried the deflector in different positions.

As I said earlier the buffeting on the R1200GS was terrible, so I bought a winder deflector/spoiler from China (€20 delivered).

Its really excellent quality, esp for this price (from two major European makers it would have cost me over €100).

So did it work?..

It completely transformed the ride. While sitting at motorway speeds (120kph) with the original screen I was seeing double unless I had my visor closed, and then I was being deafened with wind noise.

Now with the deflector/spoiler I was sitting in complete calm air and could easily hear the engine buzzing under me.

Brilliant, well worth it.

Shame on you....does it have BMW on it ..DOES IT.....People will laugh and small children will point at you....

D3V!L

Max Headroom wrote: »

Shame on you....does it have BMW on it ..DOES IT.....People will laugh and small children will point at you....

I'm snearing and looking down my nose at this cheap alternative to a perfectly good OEM branded original.

Also I'd like the link too, thanks

Sonics2k

Looks great Makikomi.

Where did you get it from? One of the lads at work was talking about this exact problem today.

blade1

Nice wind deflector Mak,do you want a sticker for it?:pac:

emo72

I wonder could I use one of those deflector thingies on my xj? I'm all about the comfort these days.

emo72

Max Headroom wrote: »

Shame on you....does it have BMW on it ..DOES IT.....People will laugh and small children will point at you....

Why am I getting a huge sense of deja vu from this post?

Max Headroom

blade1 wrote: »

Nice wind deflector Mak,do you want a sticker for it?:pac:

Doesnt need one...they come this way.....:D

arybvtcw0eolkf

GBX wrote: »

Looks like a clip on job yeah? Will you throw up a link ? Ta

Well its held in place with just four screws, the original screen is protected by rubber covers, there is no drilling holes.

LINK

arybvtcw0eolkf

blade1 wrote: »

Nice wind deflector Mak,do you want a sticker for it?:pac:

Max Headroom wrote: »

Doesnt need one...they come this way.....:D

BWAHAHAHAHA

Bastards

:pac:

LLewellen Farquarson

Cayden Defeated Thunderstorm wrote: »

Well its held in place with just four screws, the original screen is protected by rubber covers, there is no drilling holes.

LINK

Thanks, just placed an order. The screen on the k1200gt is just a fraction too low for me, and this will solve it nicely. Looks very well made, and cheap at < €20

arybvtcw0eolkf

LLewellen Farquarson wrote: »

Thanks, just placed an order. The screen on the k1200gt is just a fraction too low for me, and this will solve it nicely. Looks very well made, and cheap at < €20

There is no instructions with the kit, but its not rocket science however check out this link in regards to fitting the rubber guards with metal protectors because it would be easy to get this one wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM0umbi2YI4

This guy goes a little overboard with spraying his nuts black, its only his personal preference.

Emmersonn

Max Headroom wrote: »

Shame on you....does it have BMW on it ..DOES IT.....People will laugh and small children will point at you....

Or Touratit at least

D3V!L

Emmersonn wrote: »

Or Touratit at least

Or Wankerlich

Sonics2k

Might actually order one of these for the Deauville, I assume it'll fit. I'm that bit to tall for it and can be deafened by the wind sometimes.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Sonics2k wrote: »

Might actually order one of these for the Deauville, I assume it'll fit. I'm that bit to tall for it and can be deafened by the wind sometimes.

Can see why it won't fit tbh.

I'm very impressed with this. To remind myself what life was like two days ago I keep raising my head above and to the side of it lol.

€20, I wouldn't tolerate wind noise and buffeting anymore after this.

Actually, if you wish I'll fit this onto a Deauville in work and let you know before you order?.

Sonics2k

Cayden Defeated Thunderstorm wrote: »

Can see why it won't fit tbh.

I'm very impressed with this. To remind myself what life was like two days ago I keep raising my head above and to the side of it lol.

€20, I wouldn't tolerate wind noise and buffeting anymore after this.

Actually, if you wish I'll fit this onto a Deauville in work and let you know before you order?.

That'd be great if you wouldn't mind. Won't be ordering until the end of the month as I'm broke right now, but it'd be good to know for sure before waiting 30 days for it.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Sonics2k wrote: »

That'd be great if you wouldn't mind. Won't be ordering until the end of the month as I'm broke right now, but it'd be good to know for sure before waiting 30 days for it.

I'm at home now, but I'll try get that done and photographed tomorrow or Sunday for you. I'll post up here.

blade1

Oil leak and clutch fluid leak.


When I got the bike 14 months ago there was a leak from both rocker covers.
Got new gaskets and while I was at it I planned on doing the valve clearance.
Rear cylinder went smoothly for me but the front one had a rounded Allen head bolt on the rocker cover so I couldn't be bothered with it at the time and only got back around to it today.

Also need a new clutch slave cylinder so have an Oberon one on the way.
Old clutch slave had a rounded head as well so I epoxied a bit onto both bolts and luckily that was enough to loosen them.



Cam cover off and valve clearance within spec.
Happy Days!!


Gasket fitted and cover back on.
I couldn't be bothered waiting for a new cam cover bolt from Aprilia so I just tightened up the old worn one until the epoxy snapped and the bit came away from it.
We'll see how it goes for now.


All done just waiting for my slave cylinder to arrive now.

zubair

Epoxy in rounded bolts...

TeaBagMania

blade1 wrote: »

Drill a small hole in your thumbnail to relieve the pressure, keep us posted on how she grows out

Hotblack Desiato

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Drill a small hole in your thumbnail to relieve the pressure, keep us posted on how she grows out

Heard a story years ago about KRJR getting the same thing. KR stuck his son's digit under the drill press and relieved the pressure, then said "that might get infected, better stick it in some gasoline" - and he did.

blade1

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Drill a small hole in your thumbnail to relieve the pressure, keep us posted on how she grows out

Haha, closed the van door on it last week.:o

blade1

Couple of more bits done today...
Replaced expansion bottle as tabs were broke off the old one.
Replacement was €14 delivered from Lithuania.




Coolant flush while I'm at it
Motul Inugel Expert €26 for 5litres.


Bleeder screw on top of rad.


Filled rad until coolant at full level on expansion tank.
Heat up bike, switch off and it burps some coolant out of the bleeder.
Repeated a couple of times and should be good to go.

Waiting on a couple of bits to arrive and should have everything sorted for another while.

blade1

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kerosene for wheels/chain and sprockets.
Brake cleaner for calipers and discs.
That Lidl bike off stuff for all over.
Rinse everything off.
I use Silkolene Silkopen and all nuts and bolts.
Lemon pledge to make the bike nice and shiny.
It also makes removal of dead flies easy!

ayux4rj6zql2ph

This post has been deleted.

blade1

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Not really other than what's mentioned.

A tub of this wouldn't go astray if you don't have it already and you are up for doing a bit of maintenance yourself.
It will keep loads of stuff on your bike in tip top shape.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F331841244015

Blade can you explain the epoxy? Looks very useful. What brand it is and does it take long to dry etc?

blade1

Zaiden Fit Schoolmarm wrote: »

Blade can you explain the epoxy? Looks very useful. What brand it is and does it take long to dry etc?

It's only a cheap one, a sort of unbranded one.
It comes with a hardener.
Mix together and it sets in 5 minutes.
I left it for about 4 hours.
I think if the bolts were any more stuck the epoxy would not have been strong enough to loosen them.
I couldn't believe it when it worked.
Usually seized bolts and rounded heads go against me.
I was planning a trip to an engineer to get them out so delighted it worked.

Zebbedee

blade1 wrote: »

It's only a cheap one, a sort of unbranded one.
It comes with a hardener.
Mix together and it sets in 5 minutes.
I left it for about 4 hours.
I think if the bolts were any more stuck the epoxy would not have been strong enough to loosen them.
I couldn't believe it when it worked.
Usually seized bolts and rounded heads go against me.
I was planning a trip to an engineer to get them out so delighted it worked.

I can't believe it worked either
Fair play to ya

arybvtcw0eolkf

Sonics2k wrote: »

That'd be great if you wouldn't mind. Won't be ordering until the end of the month as I'm broke right now, but it'd be good to know for sure before waiting 30 days for it.

Just getting back about the screen on your bike.

I forgot to take in an allen key to fit the wind deflector to the work bike screen, but I inspected the screen and it'll fit no bother.

Sonics2k

Cayden Defeated Thunderstorm wrote: »

Just getting back about the screen on your bike.

I forgot to take in an allen key to fit the wind deflector to the work bike screen, but I inspected the screen and it'll fit no bother.

Legend, cheers for letting me know.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Way too early to make a call on this one, so I'm just making an observation.

In reference to the wind deflector.

Just to recap, I was getting terrible buffering from the original screen. It was shocking bad.

Put the wind deflector on, and it worked a treat. No buffering or wind noise.

Well I'm normally getting 220-230km before I go onto reserve.

This fill up got me 265km before hitting reserve!.

The only difference to the bike and my riding has been the addition of this wind deflector.

Fingers crossed, because if this is the result of adding it then its the best €20 I've ever spent on a bike.

Like I said, its too early to call this a result but here's hoping

D3V!L

Cayden Defeated Thunderstorm wrote: »

Way too early to make a call on this one, so I'm just making an observation.

In reference to the wind deflector.

Just to recap, I was getting terrible buffering from the original screen. It was shocking bad.

Put the wind deflector on, and it worked a treat. No buffering or wind noise.

Well I'm normally getting 220-230km before I go onto reserve.

This fill up got me 265km before hitting reserve!.

The only difference to the bike and my riding has been the addition of this wind deflector.

Fingers crossed, because if this is the result of adding it then its the best €20 I've ever spent on a bike.

Like I said, its too early to call this a result but here's hoping

Very interesting ! Has your driving style changed at all ?